British expat who lost leg in shark attack 'ignored warning signs'

A British swimmer lost both legs after he was attacked by a great white shark
off a South African beach after ignoring warning signs.

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Shark attack victim Michael David CohenPhoto: FACEBOOK

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A video uploaded on YouTube taken moments after the attack shows a shark lurking in the waterPhoto: EPA

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A 42-year-old British man in a critical condition is stretchered off the beachPhoto: CATERS NEWS

By Aislinn Laing, in Cape Town

8:16PM BST 28 Sep 2011

Michael Cohen, 42, was about 50 yards from the shore when he was attacked at lunchtime today. Witnesses said one of his legs was bitten off and the other was badly mangled.

Mr Cohen, a part-time accountant who lives in Cape Town, was dragged from the sea by friends who were with him at the city’s Fish Hoek beach. Paramedics stabilised him before he was airlifted to hospital in Constantia, where he underwent surgery. His father was at his bedside.

It was understood that shark warning flags were flying on the beach. However, a siren that was normally sounded to warn of predators did not go off because there was a power cut at the time.

Witnesses said three large great whites had been seen in the area 90 minutes before the attack and on previous days.

Shark spotters employed by the local council said Mr Cohen often swam at the beach and had been warned in the past about the presence of sharks.

Tracy Sassen, a surfer from Clovelly, said: “I just saw a burst of water, then saw the shark spotters running along the beach. I saw people pulling him out of the water. He was still compos mentis but very white. We asked him his name and he said: 'Michael. Please help me’.”

Kathy Geldenhuis, 58, from Fish Hoek, said she held the drips as paramedics worked on Mr Cohen, who was wearing a diabetic tag. “You could tell there was a shark out there because the seals were coming as close as they could to the beach and the fish were jumping out of the water,” she said.

“I ran up the beach when I saw the splashing in the water and the paramedics were just strapping him up. One of his legs was off totally and the other one was hanging and very badly damaged. He couldn’t say the word shark, he just kept saying, 'It took me under, it took me away.’ I was telling him to keep his eyes open, to stay awake and focus on me.”

Monwabisi Sikweyiya, one of the shark spotters, helped drag Mr Cohen from the water and used his own shorts and belt as tourniquets. “He was well known to all of us because he was a regular swimmer here,” said Mr Sikweyiya. “He was very interested in sharks and respected them, but never took any notice of our warnings. If he wanted to swim, he swam. We warned him often that he was taking a risk, but he always said 'if a shark takes me, then blame me, not the shark’.

“ We argued with him regularly about it, but he was a cool guy and just wanted to do his own thing.”

Mr Cohen, who is single, is a British citizen though he was born in Canada. He is also thought to have lived in Chiswick, west London.

Last month, Ian Redmond, from Lancashire, was killed by a shark while swimming off the Seychelles.